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August, 1912 has shown that in the matter of relia- bility and low maintenance cost, they are superior to any form of prime mover which has been used. Tests Made in Schenectady The apparatus is set up in the General Electric Co.'s power station, the turbine being connected to a condenser and one motor being installed in the same posi- tion which it will occupy on board ship with relation to the switchboard ana controlling mechanism. The other motor is arranged as a generator and is THE MARINE REVIEW Performance of the Selandia The which maiden trip on March 2, returned to London on July 15, having covered a distance of 21,086 miles, touching at Antwerp, Genoa, Port Said, Colombo, Penang, Singapore, Bangkok and re- turning via Singapore, Penang, Co- lombo, Port Said, Genoa, Aarhuus, Kiel, Copenhagen and London. 'She attained an average speed of 11 knots on 9%4 tons of fuel per day at a cost motor-driven ship Selandia, sailed from -London on her REVOLVING FIELD FOR UNITED STATES COLLIER JUPITER coupled to the first motor so that it af- fords load for it. With this generating motor as load, the conditions of service can be approximated although they are more difficult than the driving of a propeller, since the load falls off only slightly with diminutions of speed unless its exciting current is reduced. With the apparatus so installed the processes of starting, stopping, speed variation, and reversal can be accomplished very much as they would be on board ship and the time and difficulty involved can be cor- rectly judged. The motor can be oper- ated at its full load or any desired pro- pertion of this load and at any desired speed, variation being accomplished by mechanical connection to the governing mechanism of the turbine equivalent to that which will be used on board ship. This arrangement affords means of ex- perimenting with the operating condi- tions, but does not afford m<ans of testing water rates, since only one motor can be loaded. The wat:r rates of the generating unit have been tested under all loads and conditions by delivering its power to a water rheostat in the usual manner, and the record of these tests is shown by the accompanying curve sheet. In these tests the effects of speed, voltage, vacuum, and superheat were all thoroughly investigated and a series of tests run under almost exactly the conditions of load, speed and voltage which will be characteristic of the ship's operation. The tests were made under exact conditions of steam pressures and vacuum specified for the ship. of about $7.68 per ton. The total con- sumption for the round trip was 800 tons. This is the longest voyage ever undertaken by a motor-driven ship and naturally great interest was evinced in her upon her return to London. The owners state that no trouble whatever was experienced, the engines maneuvering with absolute certainty. The piston rings were only examined twice on the voyagé and they and the cylinders were found to be perfectly clean. The exhaust valves, which consist of cast iron heads on steel stems, were also examined twice, most of them needing no attention, some being just cleaned and ground in. The voyage seems to have brought out no inherent defects in the principle of the four-cycle motor, such for in- stance: as the sticking of the valves, the gumming of the piston rings or failure to reverse, as had been feared by many. : 'At any rate, the Selandia has dem- onstrated that 9,300 tons of cargo can be transported a distance of 21,840 miles on a consumption of 9% tons of fuel per 24 hours, with a total engine crew of ten men and three boys and 'without any sacrifice of reliability or maneuvering capabilities in the ship. On the other hand information comes from abroad that the Jutlandia, sistership of the Selandia and the first motor-driven vessel to be actually en- gined by a British firm, has not been altogether successful. Information is not at present obtainable as to the ook exact nature of the trouble. It is known, however, that the Am- erican - Hawaiian Steamship Co. has abandoned its intention of installing Diesel engines in the three latest steamers placed with the Maryland Steel Co., and .will install geared tur- bines instead. Meanwhile the Clyde Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Port Glasgow, Scotland, has launched the motor- driven package steamer Fordonian, for Norcross & Co., Toronto, and will equip her with Diesel oil engines built by themselves. This vessel will be given most extensive trials before she is sent across the ocean and it is not probable that she will reach the lakes before October. The Fordonian is 250 ft. long, 42 ft. 8 im > breadth, 16 ft. 10 in. deep to main deck and 26 ft. 6 in. deep to awning deck. The Toiler, the first oil-driven ves- sel to reach the lakes, has again been placed in commission since her recent stranding. She is regarded in the nature of an experiment. She is rather © slow, her actual speed being about 6 knots. New Steamers for United Fruit Co. Capt. William Anderson, manager of the marine department, United Fruit -Co.,. Boston, advises that: the company now has under construction at the yard of Workman, Clark & Co., Ltd., Belfast, Ireland, three ships for passengers and freight, about 8,000 tons each. Their approximate dimen- sions will be: 487 ft. in length, 55 ft. in breadth and 33 ft. 6 in. in depth. They are being designed for a speed of 16 knots. When these steamers are completed the United Fruit 'Co. will have, in- cluding its English operating com- pany, Elders & Fyffes, Ltd., a total of 37 refrigerated steamers of its own, all of which are new boats con- structed within the past few years. Of this number 21 are operated by the United Fruit Co. and 16 by Elders & Fyffes. The distinction is not im- portant as the English subsidiary is entirely owned by the fruit company. These 37 boats represent an invest- ment of $18,000,000, which at the end of a 10-year term will have been ert- tirely liquidated through sinking fund operations. In other words, the United Fruit Co. will ultimately have an investment of $18,000,000 without a dollar of capital against it. The submarine F-4, which was built at the yard of the Seattle Con- struction & Dry Dock Co., Seattle, Wash., underwent her contract trials -- recently successfully.